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Last night the first episode of a TV series called Kill It, Cook It, Eat It aired on BBC Three. The premise of the program(me) is to show exactly how meat gets to our plates.

The first episode jumped right in, by showing, in an actual working abattoir, the slaughter and butchering of real live cows. This was witnessed by several members of the public through glass windows in a special observation area built around the abatoir. Later on, the same people ate meat cut from the cows they had just witnessed being slaughtered and prepared on the spot by a chef.

It may sound like shock TV, but it was quite educational. The killing and cutting up of the cow is quite horrifying, and I found it hard to watch...though on the other hand I couldn't tear my eyes away. Nevertheless I came away with a feeling of great respect for the process. I've always thought that the more we know about how and where our food comes from, the better choices we can make about it. TV shows like this fill that need.

For what it's worth, it didn't make me an instant vegan.

I hope this series will show up eventually on Google Video/YouTube, as part of the BBC's recent agreement with Google to put some of their content there. I think anyone who eats meat should see it. In the meantime, UK viewers and others around Europe with access to BBC Three can watch the next episode, where a lamb will be slaughtered (cute animal alert), tonight at 22:30 BST/23:30 CET.

I cannot beleive that young and trusting animals are herded in and trustingly get slaughtered with people WATCHING. Why do people want to watch this anyway, how is this different to animal sacrifice, the principals are the same 'for a purpose'. this is disgusting and I dare not even comtemplate what will make future TV

Well I saw the programme and posted about it a while ago, and still consider it to be must-see TV for anyone who eats meat or contemplates eating meat. It's what happens to animals before they reach our plates.

This is one of the more humane abattoirs. Most are express lanes where animals are moved through at a rapid rate. Don't forget 'time is money'. Those animals who miss the stunner are butchered alive, piece by piece. Some give birth on their way to the slaughterhouse. The general public is spared the full horror of these places.
Ralf Waldo Emerson (American poet and essayist)put it like this:
"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity".